One of the Republicans’ most highly touted recruits has decided not to run for Congress against freshman Rep. Christopher P. Carney (D-Pa.), leaving the Republican primary field wide-open for a challenger.

U.S. Attorney Tom Marino, after much buzz surrounding his candidacy, told the National Republican Congressional Committee that he would not be jumping into the race.

His decision may spark a scramble for the Northeast Pennsylvania seat among Republicans in the district, many of whom had deferred to Marino before making a final decision. At least 10 Republicans have openly considered running. The NRCC views this seat as one of their best pickup opportunities: President Bush won 60 percent of the vote in 2004.

One of the leading candidates – though unannounced – is Dan Meuser, the president of Pride Mobility Products, a wheelchair manufacturing company.

Meuser has been meeting with the 14 county party chairmen within the district in preparation for a campaign announcement. With his substantial personal wealth, Meuser would also be able to self-finance a campaign, an asset the NRCC views favorably.

“The right time is fast approaching,” Meuser told Politico.com. “I continue to receive encouragement, which I am humbled and exhilarated by.”

Another candidate considered viable by national Republicans is Joseph Peters, a homeland security consultant.

“The National Republicans’ inability to get their top recruit to run for Congress shows just how strong and effective Congressman Carney is,” said DCCC spokeswoman Carrie James.

Dems lead fundraising chase

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has expanded its cash-on-hand lead over the National Republican Congressional Committee in the month of May, according to campaign finance disclosure documents released yesterday.

The DCCC has $11.5 million cash on hand, more than six times the $1.8 million the NRCC has banked.
The NRCC (with $4.53 million raised) narrowly edged its Democratic counterpart (with $4.52 million) fundraising for the month. But the NRCC also spent more money than the DCCC for the month ($4.3 million to $2.3 million), much of it directed toward a radio advertising campaign against vulnerable freshman Democrats.

Both committees are still working to pay off substantial debts. The DCCC reported owing $4.61 million (down from $5.16 million last month); NRCC’s debt is $6.8 million (down from $7.28 million last month).

Appointed senator blues

Whoever is appointed to the open Wyoming Senate seat may want to watch his or her political back. Appointed senators have a long history of being defeated in the next party primary.

Consider Sheila Frahm, the Kansas lieutenant governor who was appointed to the Senate in June 1996 to replace Bob Dole, who quit to pursue his presidential campaign full time. Frahm hailed from the moderate wing of the Kansas GOP, longtime political rivals of the state Republicans’ more conservative faction. Sam Brownback, then a freshman House member, defeated Frahm in the Republican primary, ending her Capitol Hill tenure after less than six months.

Sen. Max Baucus (Mont.), chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, got to the Senate in 1978 by defeating Paul G. Hatfield in the Democratic primary. Hatfield had been appointed in January of that year but quickly came under fire for backing the treaties that gave the Panama Canal back to Panama. Baucus was then in his second House term.

Of course, not every Senate primary defeat after an appointment means political death. In 1974, when Sen. William B. Saxbe (R-Ohio) resigned from his seat to accept the nomination as U.S. attorney general, Gov. Jack Gilligan appointed Howard M. Metzenbaum to fill out the remainder of Saxbe's term. Metzenbaum ran for election to the seat, but in a bitter Democratic primary Metzenbaum lost to former astronaut John Glenn, who won the general election.

Yet Metzenbaum was back little more than two years later. In 1976, he won the Democratic Senate nomination and then defeated Republican incumbent Robert Taft Jr. in November.
Another longtime Senate lion, Sam Nunn, earned his way to Washington by defeating an appointed incumbent, David H. Gambrell. In February 1971, upon the death of Richard B. Russell Jr., Gov. Jimmy Carter appointed Gambrell to the Senate. But he lost the 1972 Democratic primary to Nunn, an Atlanta lawyer, who would go on to serve for nearly a quarter-century.

A variety of reasons account for appointed senators’ mixed political success, said Julian E. Zelizer, professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University.

“Appointed senators are in a tough position,” Zelizer said. “They often have two challenges: They need to prove their legitimacy and, at the same time, demonstrate they can wield the needed power to benefit their state.”

To survive a primary challenge, good committee positions are important so that voters can look ahead and see what reelection might bring the state. But “a tougher challenge is that of legitimacy,” he said. “The appointed official needs to convince voters why they should remain in a seat they didn't ‘win’ and that they have a vision as senator which deserves their vote.”

An appointed senator can also be bolstered by a primary challenge in their first election. That’s what happened to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in 2004. She had first come to the Senate in December 2002 when her father, Frank Murkowski, was elected governor. He promptly appointed her to his old Senate seat, sparking charges of nepotism. In the 2004 Republican primary, she faced a challenge from the right from former state legislator Mike Miller. Murkowski won the primary 58 percent to 37 percent, buffering her general election prospects against former Gov. Tony Knowles. Though considered one of the most vulnerable Republicans that year, Murkowski won 49 percent to 46 percent, earning a full six-year term.